RYA Volvo Youth Nationals showcases online technology

Utilising the power of the internet to promote sailing, the RYA is showcasing the online technology available to deliver sailing to a wider audience.

﻿The RYA Volvo Youth National Championships in Weymouth, which conclude today has been used as a platform to demonstrate technology, including live tracking and 3D animation.

The live tracking, powered by TracTrac, is running throughout the 420, Laser Standard and Laser Radial Gold fleets. This has required 165 tracking units on the water in order to deliver the detailed animation and GPS tracking on the courses which are furthest from shore. TracTrac has delivered an advanced and robust system, which provides simultaneous tracking for the races. Hundreds of tracking units are involved where racing is taking place in different classes across multiple course areas and course layouts.

The testing taking place at the RYA Volvo Youth National Championships this week will be fully powered up for the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta being held in Weymouth from 9-14 August 2010.

David Campbell James, Event Director and RYA Competition Manager commented, “The technology used at the RYA Volvo Youth National Championships represents the RYA's approach to invest in technology and our objective to set a benchmark in the online promotion of sailing. The testing put in place this week will enable us to deliver a seamless information and media platform at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta this summer”.

Alongside the GPS tracking, BeTomorrow have implemented a race viewer, providing a 3D graphic rendition of the race using the tracking data pushed out by TracTrac. The tracking is reconstructed in 3D by BeTomorrow, based on the GPS positions of the boats and augmented with key racing information. The starting and finishing lines are clearly shown, as are the advantage lines, the speed, the direction of the boats, the ranking at each mark and weather conditions on the water.

Both the TracTrac and BeTomorrow technology offers full interaction for users, enabling viewers to follow the race status, speeds, distances, multiple viewing angles, sailor info and much more. Fans can follow the racing from their mobile phone, PC or TV.

The tracking at the RYA Volvo Youth National Championships is also proving popular with fans onsite, with large screens strategically placed around the venue and refreshment areas.

The aim of the event website and integrated technology is designed to engage fans, media and the public, and provide immediate updates from the race course, comprehensive race data and statistics as well as delivering sailing to a wider audience.

The event website, provided by SailRacer, has been developed to enable live feed GPS tracking of races, a live blog linking with social networking site Twitter and video content offering fans and potential audiences a cohesive and comprehensive view of the event. SailRacer is a leading provider in the provision of online systems for sailing.